Genealogy Chat

hi i am rather new to this and completely stuck My grandfather was born in 1912 in mile end infirmary. east London . his birth cert shows no father. his marriage cert also shows no father. His mother is Mary Herring. living stepney east london. I can find one mary herring living in the right area in the 1901 census the daughter of a thomas herring, i cant find a death or marriage for Mary. i gather she wont be on an electoral register, what other places can i look to find her. i have found no birth cert that matches upto the census either. Any suggestions what i do next. i have come to a standstill already and only just started.

maybe try and find any siblings of your grandfather???

i am afraid my grandfather was an only child

I think that you might have to try and look for them in an electoral roll of around 1931. With luck you'll find him living with his mother! Another possibility is that if he was baptised then the baptisms register might name the father. This information couldn't be given on the birth registration, but if she knew (or was willing to tell) who the father was, he might've been named there. A long shot, I'll grant you.

thank you do i go to the local council offices and ask to view them,? or can i get them on line,?

Do you know if your grandfather ever joined the army/navy/air force? You could try to find his army records, which might give an address for his next of kin (which may or may not be his mother). If you know whether they stayed in the same area of London, it might be just the long job of trawling through the indexes to see if you can find a marriage or a death of his mother. Could be a long job though. I'm still looking for my grandfather's death after 3 years of searching. Kath. x

thank you my grandfather was in the army, i saw a picture when i was young, will try that way. This was meant to be a relaxing hobby.........

Baptism registers are at the relevant county records office as well as major libraries and local history centres in the area. It's possible that she claimed for maintenance from the father, and there might be records of this in the quarter sessions - again at the records office. If she stayed in the same area she might be in a street directory. Or she may have lived with her father Thomas and you could find him on the electoral roll. nell

It's worth remembering that the Mary in the 1901 census *might* be the right woman. She's got a common enough name that it could be a coincidence, though.

If you can get to the local library that holds the electoral roll... in our case it's the main borough library... they may holds directories. Our electoral roll doesn't start until 1930's, yes you can just go into our library and view them. The directories list everyone who is head of the household, male or female. The directories go back to the 1890's in our library, of course different libs have different holdings. If you have your grandfathers birth cert then you may have an address. try starting your search there. what area are you searching?

thank you i am looking for whitechpel and stepney area.

thank you i am looking for whitechpel and stepney area.

This is the library you might need.... Bancroft Library 277 Bancroft Road London El 4DQ Local History: 020 7364 1290 Archives: 020 7364 1289 Fax: 020 7364 1292 E-mail: [email protected] Open: Tue, Thu 9-8, Fri 9-6, Sat 9-5 Covered by London Borough of tower hamlets.

Was your grandfather brought up by his mother? Does anyone in the family remember her? Was she visited during holidays? It's worth asking your parents' generation for any info they have (and looking at old photos, to see if any have the name of the photographer on them, to narrow down the area a bit. Are there any admission/discharge registers for the hospital? If you google for the national archives site, this has links to hospital records. It will tell you what survive and where they are held. This might provide an additional address.